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In a business environment where sink-or-swim is the be-all and end-all ultimatum, some companies have gotten wise to the threats they face and joined forces. It’s in this realm of mergers and acquisitions that we see heavyweights like Aetna and CVS Health teaming up to remain competitive. According to Todd Katz, former CFO of Quest Integrity, the moves that these types of national brands have made serve as shining examples of what can be done – and what can be salvaged – when one industry leader comes out on top and the other reinforces operations.

According to a late 2017 article from the Harvard Business Review magazine, the previous year was jam-packed with examples of mergers big and small. In fact, some 50,000 such deals across the globe were announced by media information firm Thomson Reuters. It’s the highest in a decade and Quest Integrity’s Todd Katz is following the fallout of 2017’s deals intently. According to the article, the crux of the Aetna-CVS deal remains to be seen. Some surmised that it was to compete with Amazon and the possible offering and medical products in the near future. For the $68 billion deal that CVS paid out, Mr. Katz says that something reasonably profitable must come of it. Mr. Katz can comment on this because as chief financial officer for the pipeline inspection company, he oversaw a period of record growth that culminated with $75 million in worldwide revenue in 2016.

Prior to Quest Integrity, Todd Katz was a Director in mergers and acquisitions at Merrill Lynch, where he led teams of bankers and lawyers to complete various M&A transactions both large and small. According to the HRB article, the geography that’s part of the large-scale deals is on the digital frontier and less about the brick-and-mortar stores. Amazon gobbled up Whole Foods for $13 billion as part of an online ordering deal that will deliver food – and convenience – to customers. With an education that includes degrees in business economics from the University of California and in Finance from the Wharton School of Business, it’s clear that Todd Katz, Quest Integrity’s former CFO, can spot a smart deal when he sees one. That’s why he’ll continue to pay attention to the mergers that are expected to play out in 2018 and see if the moves made in 2017 pay off for those who paid up the big bucks to seal the deal.